Can FOOD and the KETO DIET Affect Your MENTAL HEALTH? | Brain Energy with Dr. Chris Palmer

How might a keto diet transform not only your metabolic health but may also manage symptoms of mental health disorders like depression, anxiety, PTSD, schizophrenia, and more? Dr. Chris Palmer outlines the principles from his book “Brain Energy” with Ben Grynol in this episode and discusses his journey toward the revolutionary idea that might change how we view mental health care moving forward.

#keto #mentalHealth #insulinResistance #metabolicHealth #depression #schizophrenia

📍 What Dr. Chris Palmer & Ben Grynol discuss:
00:00 — Intro
07:57 — How Chris Palmer started his research for Brain Energy
10:49 — Painting a picture of the mental health crisis through numbers
20:17 — Discussing the biopsychosocial model and existing research on the roots of mental disorders
30:38 — The bidirectional relationship between metabolic and mental health
34:37 — The real power of the mitochondria and the role it plays in fostering mental and metabolic health
46:08 — Medication for mental disorders and their long-term effect on patients’ metabolic health
01:07:10 — Insulin resistance and its impact on mental disorders
1:11:39 — Food addiction, stress-eating, and why Chris doesn’t sugarcoat the realities of the ketogenic diet
1:28:38 — It’s not too late to start taking charge of your metabolic health now
1:38:45 — Chris touches on the factors that hinder better mental healthcare today and what we can do to advocate for the mentally ill

👋 WHO WE ARE:

Levels helps you see how food affects your health. With real-time, personalized data gathered through biosensors like continuous glucose monitors (CGM), you learn which diet and lifestyle choices improve your metabolic health so you can live a longer, fuller, healthier life.

🔗 LINKS:

[katherineleflufy]

I have in recent years come to loathe the psychiatric profession as a whole, to the point that I find it difficult, to my shame, to remain open to individuals in that profession, but the more I hear Chris Palmer talk the more I see him as one of the most wonderful humans imaginable. The compassion with which he tells his stories is so utterly palpable, and the broad minded nature of the curiosity that led him to research this is so opposite to the attitude I've ever found amongst those educated into that profession, what an amazing guy!

[TheresaTay-js]

Thank you Dr Chris. Wonderful video. I am very touched and thankful that you exist. I suffer from bipolar for more than 45 years. I was diagnosed with cirrhosis in 2021. No doctors was able to treat me for that. I had portal bleeding and vomitted blood. The procedures to rescue me was scary. I cried to God, why me again? I have suffered enough with my mental illness and now another untreatable condition. The condition was due to high sugar diet, stress, depression and drugs. I asked my psychiatrist which should is more important my liver or my head. He couldn’t answer me. I tossed a coin and turned out liver. So I stopped my medication and eliminated sugar. It was a tough fight with the withdrawal symptoms from the long term medicines and the sugar addiction. Thank God, I pulled through. I did keto diet and intermittent fasting shortly after that and even did a 3 days water fast. Gosh, was terrible. Giddiness, stomach cramps, back pains, chilling and many. I even admitted myself into hospital for the pains. Doctor did detail blood test and result turned out well in fact all normal. My liver enzymes went down. He discharged me after giving me some painkiller on the same day. I think those pains must be the healing crisis. Now I m no more in pain not on any painkillers and my mind is very clear and I feel good. I hope my story could change the life of people suffering from mental illness. By the way, I lost my sister suffered from szhophenia in 2019. She committed suicide, let’s help the helpless ones together.

[snuder]

There is another positive element regarding the keto diet, and that is realizing you have the ability to totally quit an addiction that you may have had for your entire life up until the point of the diet. It’s a wonderful feeling!

[georgechoquette]

Dr. Chris Palmer needs to be on the Joe Rogan show.
Make it happen if you can.

[theburrowthomas]

As a nurse and nutritionist, I campaign for this with all my metabolic pts. Your insights in this could also explain why we see more mental health issues with underprivileged pts in generational poverty. 🤯 Modern poverty doesn't mean no food, it means the poorest quality food. We need to fix this.

[CashMoneyMoore]

Great interview. And such an intense call to action. Anything to relieve the suffering of the mentally ill should be given full attention

[suzanbak]

Bless you Dr Palmer. Your profound love for your Mother is reflected in your life. What a phenomenal son!

[thewatcher]

What a fantastic interview! Dr Palmer's genuine care and concern for people with mental illness - especially schizophrenia - is palpable. People like him give me hope for all those who suffer from this terrible illness.

[catjoo]

Thank you, Dr. Chris Palmer for connecting the dots and doing the research and leading the movement to help this underserved population. As a caretaker of a family member affected by chronic mental disorder and metabolic disease, your research makes perfect sense. The whole experience to find the correct treatment has been frustrating to say the least. A medication should not be the first or only solution offered to these patients. A new paradigm and approach to care and treatment is extremely important
Also as a primary healthcare provider I thank you from the bottom of my heart for leading such an important movement and plan to help share your important work with my colleagues and all my patients.

[sashak]

I appreciate Dr. Palmer so much for his knowledge and his true interest in people's wellbeing. I ordered Brain Energy a few weeks ago and hope it will help my daughter, 22, who has been struggling with anxiety and unstable mood since a very young age. The problem I see is that there are too few of Dr. Palmer in this society and too many money hungry big institutions and industries that push products, unethical guidelines, and ideas to young people... when I see obese models, old and young, appear on TV commercials and large billboards as if this is normal, I am furious!

[KLF-]

Dr. Palmer, thank you for your remarkable work. Your intent to help us shines through. God bless you. Just happily ordered your new book, "Brain Energy" and I look forward to reading it!

[JoanneWhitlock]

I’m just past four months in to a change of diet, and 40 pounds down. Two things have made it easier to stick to. First my own fears about how ill I feel (I am undiagnosed but following recommendations for chronic fatigue syndrome that I found online whilst undergoing many tests with my doctor) and second the urine strip tests to determine if I am in ketosis or not. This means a secondary way of knowing if the work I am doing is working. I’ve been surprised by how valuable this was and it has really helped remove some confusion and doubt about what I am doing re which foods etc to eat. I’m either in ketosis or I’m not.

[thecklagarcia]

I know you are right. I feel so much better when I eat clean and no sugar etc.

[lala]

Thank you so much, Dr Palmer, for this information, for so many years of work and for your book, which is amazing!!! I'm from Argentina, so here the psychiatric approaches are old and medication related. Psychiatrists, most of them, are just prescription machines. I've struggled with mental problems for many years and right now I'm on a ketogenic diet (almost four months) and it's changed my life. Thank god I never wanted to take antidepressants.

[kevinchurchyard]

my help came from 5-6 days of fasting mimicking diet, One Meal a Day, early in the day.
followed by a couple of days of non fasting mimicking diet, One Meal a Day, early in the day.
repeat the cycle.
which helped to re-set my insulin sensitivity and activate production of hormone sensitive lipase.
which took about 5-6 weeks.
all of which to say, the number of consecutive hours a day we rely on our body to feed us
the appropriate levels of glucose, ketones, etc... the better.
and, if we go to sleep > 10 hours fasted,
we're much more likely to experience autophagy daily while sleeping,
i.e. resting low blood glucose, resting low blood insulin, resting low blood uric acid.

[saharroshan]

You are amazing Dr Palmer
I really believe in you ❤

[highlander]

Very helpful 💕 my parents used to let me eat a ton of sugar when I was a kid, I never knew how harmful that was. I don't hold it against my parents anymore, but this is very enlightening. I wish I'd know all of this years ago

[aujax]

my experience is keto improves mood, improves steady energy throughout the day, lowers irritability and improves my cognitive function.

[johanncoetzee]

This message should be spread quicker and enjoy more publication than the fire of the COVID viruses to heal the human nervous system

[helenlawson]

My son has had schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder for 22 years, and is 44 this year. All medications have been tried and failed. I have lost all hope that psychiatry can help him. Wondering if the keto diet and orthomolecular medicine 'niacin' treatments have ever been used in conjunction. Both can help individually.